


I Can Take So Much

by lookforanewangle



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, M/M, one-sided dick/wally
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 09:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6073414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lookforanewangle/pseuds/lookforanewangle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The silence in the room was deafening, filling the space with an eerie stillness, crushing them under it's silent roar.</p><p>Wally was fuming, pacing restlessly back and forth across the room. At the speed he was going, Dick was afraid he would either wear out the carpet or bolt before they had a chance to discuss the plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Can Take So Much

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on tumblr on July 8th, 2014. I've made a few minor edits, nothing that affects the plot.
> 
> Prompt: Dick is the one to fake his death instead of Artemis (via goodluckdetective on tumblr).
> 
> I got really excited when I got this prompt, ngl. My heart also hurt because my babies already went through enough angst in s2, didn't they? Now I'm putting them through more, oh dear. This _was_ written for an angst war, so had to make it angsty, complete with one-sided feelings for my otp. :)))
> 
> Title is from Christina Perri's "Human," and there's a short piece of dialogue Wally says direct from an episode from s2 (I don't remember the name of the episode right now, it's been way too long, but it's when Dick and Wally are talking/arguing in the Hall of Justice).
> 
> Enjoy!

The silence in the room was deafening, filling the space with an eerie stillness, crushing them under it's silent roar.  
  
Wally was fuming, pacing restlessly back and forth across the room. At the speed he was going, Dick was afraid he would either wear out the carpet or bolt before they had a chance to discuss the plan. The ebony was just about to open his mouth when Wally spoke up.  
  
“This is stupid.”  
  
“Wally-”  
  
“This is stupid and reckless, and there’s no point in sending in someone else when we already have Kaldur to keep us in the loop.”  
  
Dick’s eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. “Wally, you know that it’s getting too dangerous for Kal to keep contacting us. Sooner or later someone is going to find out what he’s doing, and the whole thing will be for nothing. We could lose him. _Permanently_.”  
  
“Then why does it have to be you?” Wally exclaimed, whirling angrily towards the acrobat. “You’re the leader of the team now! It could just as easily be M'gann, or Barbara, or Artemis-”  
  
“You really want to send your girlfriend into the line of fire?” Dick asked incredulously, glaring at the redhead. Wally scowled and looked away. The ebony released a sigh before continuing gently. “You know full well why it has to be me, Wally. I’m not fit to lead this team, I never was. Kaldur did well and Barbara will too. I don’t want to put anyone else in danger. I’m the only one suited for this sort of mission. I don’t have connections with anyone in the Light -like Artemis-, or the Reach, and Bruce has trained me before for this sort of thing. And with Zatanna’s glamor charm, I’ll be completely unrecognizable.”  
  
“It’s still too dangerous-”  
  
“Wally, _everything_ we do in the mask is dangerous.”  
  
“What if Kaldur has been playing you?” the redhead retorted. “What if all this time he’s been a triple agent? Within the span of a few months he lost the love of his life and found out that Black Manta was his father. He’s supposed to be playing _them_ , but are you absolutely sure he isn’t playing _you_?”  
  
“You think I haven’t considered it?” Dick growled, stalking up to the other, his volume steadily rising. “You think I haven’t had doubts about any part of this whole thing since the beginning? About the dangers, about the people we could lose? About what could happen to me and all the people I care about?”  
  
Dick stopped directly in front of Wally, glare heavy on his features. Wally’s eyebrows furrowed and he looked away, refusing to catch his gaze.  
  
“I know what I’m getting myself into, Wally.” Dick continued, softer this time. “I’ve prepared for the worst. I thought you would have taken that into consideration, considering you used to be able to know what I was thinking before I even opened my mouth.”  
  
Wally glanced back up in surprise, the hurt words and look on the ebony’s face twisting something painfully in his chest. Dick looked away and turned so his back was to Wally, crossing his arms and bowing his head.  
  
“What happened to us, Walls?” he whispered hoarsely.  
  
Dick heard Wally shift behind him, but he didn’t respond. The ebony clenched his eyes shut tightly, shoulders raising as he folded in on himself, his hands squeezing his arms tightly to prevent himself from continuing. He was about to take a step forward to leave when a hand settled on his shoulder.  
  
“I just…don’t want to lose my best pal,” Wally said softly. Dick turned to look at him uncertainly. Wally forced a pained smile. “Questioning your objectivity…that’s what a best pal’s for…remember?”  
  
A lump formed in Dick’s throat and his eyebrows drew together in pained remembrance, the memories of that night years ago rushing back. He opened his mouth to reply when there was a creak and a jingle of keys beyond the front door. He panicked for a moment, making a split-second decision. He surged forward, grabbing Wally’s face in his hands-  
  
And kissed him.  
  
It was fast, sloppy, urgent, and desperate. Dick’s eyes were clenched shut, not wanting to see Wally’s reaction, the redhead’s own eyes blown wide in surprise. A blush flared over Wally’s face, hiding his freckles. The kiss lasted only a few seconds and then Dick was pulling away, slipping into the shadows towards the window. Wally watched his retreat as best as he could, his chest aching and his brain still reeling from the surprise.  
  
“Dick…”  
  
“Just…take care of Tim for me, okay? He’s going to need a big brother.”  
  
“But-”  
  
“And take care of Artemis.”  
  
The door opened as Wally was about to call out for him to wait. He turned back to the door, Artemis closing it behind her and dropping her keys into the bowl on the table in the hallway.  
  
“Hey, babe,” she called, striding towards him with four pizza boxes balanced in one hand, a soft grin on her face. “Got you some pizza.”  
  
“Oh, uh... thanks,” he mumbled, bowing his head slightly, his blush from the kiss still evident on his face. She leaned in to give him a quick peck on the lips before moving into the kitchen.  
  
“You okay?” she called back to him, pulling down some plates from a cabinet. “You seem a little…tense.”  
  
“I just…I’m…worried about him,” Wally replied, wandering towards the window and peering out into the night.  
  
Dick was nowhere to be seen.  
  
Artemis appeared beside him, resting her hand on his shoulder. “Hey, look at me,” she commanded gently, her voice soothing. He turned, his hands entrapped by her own. “He’s going to be okay, Wally. He knows what he’s doing. He’s a big boy, he can take care of himself.”  
  
Wally released a sigh, bowing his head again. “I know. But you can’t say that you’re not just a little worried that something might happen.”  
  
“Just a little.” She agreed. “But I’m more confident in the fact that he can take care of himself in these sorts of situations.” Wally didn’t reply, instead turning to look out the window once more. Artemis sighed, tugging on the redhead’s hands. “C'mon. You need to eat.”  
  
Wally spared one last glance out the window, a stronger sense of panic viciously turning his stomach. He swallowed it down before following the blonde to the table.  
  
Dick would survive this.

He _had_ to.


End file.
